DMV administrator remains in post after massage-parlor controversy

Months after the Rhode Island Attorney General determined that DMV Administrator Walter "Bud" Craddock exercised questionable judgment by renting out a commercial property to a sex business, he remains in his post and officials don't have much to say about it.

In April, Attorney General Peter Neronha issued a scathing report saying that it wasn't possible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Craddock knew that prostitution was taking place at a massage parlor in a building that he and his wife own in Cranston.

That ruled out the possibility of criminal charges, Neronha wrote, but there were “multiple red flags that should have at least given Mr. Craddock pause concerning the nature of the business."

At the time, Gov. Dan McKee's office did not address the criticisms, but said that the matter would be "referred to the state’s HR department.”

When The Providence Journal followed up last week to find out the outcome of any HR investigation, the governor's office directed inquiries to the state Department of Administration, which did not provide any information.

"Regarding your inquiry about Bud Craddock, the department does not comment on individual personnel issues," DOA spokeswoman Laura Hart wrote in an email.

The governor's office did not respond to follow-up inquiries about whether McKee felt that Craddock had exercised poor judgment. (McKee is out of state until Thursday.)

DMV spokesman Paul Grimaldi confirmed that Craddock remains in his current post as DMV administrator and referred all other questions to the state's HR department.

Craddock, who was appointed in 2015, drew scrutiny last year after Cranston police raided a building he owns during an undercover investigation that targeted a number of alleged "massage parlors" in the city.

Craddock, a former Cranston police chief, said he didn't know that his tenant was doing anything illegal. But Neronha said that he should have been suspicious that rent was paid in cash, garbage bags were taped over the window and there were indoor surveillance cameras but no massage license on display, among other things.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: McKee silent on decision to retain DMV administrator Craddock